Daily Food & Ag Digest
Every day, the staff of the Genetic Literacy Project scours the Web for stories on a range of agricultural and food issues, including the GMO debate, conventional and organic farming, regulations, new breeding technologies and sustainability. We publish excerpts of those stories and encourage our readers to visit the original publications for the complete stories.
Farmers advocate for protective legislation guaranteeing their ability to use crop chemicals deemed safe by federal oversight agencies
In many state legislatures, such as Missouri and North Dakota, there are bills being discussed to make the state pesticide ...
Organic industry lobbies to replace organic seal on foods with GMO-free, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, and pesticide related claims
To better engage younger consumers, further maximize the impact of the organic seal and drive sales, [Matthew] Dillon urges industry ...
16.4 million ads: Tort law firm suits targeting cutting edge technologies like genetically modified crops and chemicals surged more than 260% in the last 8 years with glyphosate at the top of the list
In 2024, a staggering $164 million was spent on more than 725,000 legal services advertisements in Los Angeles alone. This ...
Viewpoint: Regenerative agriculture’s ‘exorbitant price tag’—Will it ever make economic sense?
[O]ut of 900 million arable acres in the US, only a tiny fraction is currently being farmed regeneratively. And out ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why RFK, Jr.’s recommendation to substitute animal fats for vegetable alternatives is bad for your health
'Americans should have every right to eat out at a restaurant without being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidised seed oils,' ...
Sticky pesticides: Farmers don’t like using pesticides anymore than we like traces of them on our food. Here’s a smart way forward
It's easy for Greenpeace employees in cities to talk about farming but in the real world, without pesticides we'd lose ...
Viewpoint: How could DOGE and RFK, Jr.-ordered FDA cuts impact food safety?
At the Food and Drug Administration, freezes on government credit card spending ordered by the Trump administration have impeded staff ...
Consumer resistance to technology tweaking food: Brits remain skeptical about cell-based meats
[A] minority (16-41%) of people in the UK are willing to consume cell-cultivated meat [according to the UK Food Standards ...
AI poised to revolutionize farming. Here’s how
In agriculture, AI is already helping farmers to monitor crop health, tailor the delivery of inputs, and make harvesting more ...
Treasure map of genetic secrets—Bigger and more flavorful eggplants and tomatoes on the horizon
Bigger and more flavorful tomatoes and eggplants may soon become a reality, thanks to a team of scientists at Johns Hopkins ...
Lazarus plants: ‘Zombie’ plants that spring back to life hold keys to developing technologies to adapt agriculture to climate change.
To protect crops from rising droughts, scientists are looking to the genes of a small group of plants that can ...
Ageing and diet: In a study one food plan actually appears to provide some unique benefits
A new 30-year study of eight popular diets has identified the one most likely to keep you healthiest into your ...
Korean Muslim group becomes latest religious organization to issue a Fatwa approving cultivated meat as Halal
Cultivated meat can be considered Halal and consumed by Muslims, provided they’re sourced and produced in accordance with Halal standards, ...
‘Probiotics is a waste of money’: Scientists push back against Dr. Oz claims that the supplements he promotes provide health benefits
Our bodies—and guts, specifically—depend on a balance of bacteria to “maintain healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels,” but “you gotta ...
Women have long been encouraged to monitor their nutrition during pregnancy. Men need to watch their food intake too—but before conception
For decades, fertility research has focused on maternal health, but groundbreaking new research is shifting the conversation. A growing body ...
Viewpoint: Trump’s tariffs are squeezing American farmers. We are still in wait-and-see territory but tensions are building
The trade war hit my farm and greenhouse business here in northwest Missouri on March 4. The first email I ...
Cosmic cuisine: Synthetic biologists are exploring cellular agriculture to grow food in space
[P]roducing food in space is incredibly difficult. There is very limited space aboard spacecraft, and microgravity impacts the growth of ...
Viewpoint: For European farming to innovate, patents are critical
EU policymakers are currently negotiating new rules for developing innovative plant varieties through new genomic techniques (NGTs). These techniques allow plant breeders ...
Bayer plans appeal and hopes for legislative relief after $2.2 billion Roundup-glyphsate verdict
A Cobb County, Georgia, jury awarded plaintiff John Barnes $2.065 billion in compensation and damages on March 21 in ...
While raw milk increases health risk by 70,000% percent, cheese made from raw milk is safe to eat
The only real way to wipe out H5N1, the bird flu that has been ruining egg prices since last year, ...
Viewpoint: Social media’s herd mentality undermines how we view farming and food
The information superhighway has many potholes to navigate and treacherous off ramps that will result in people getting lost on ...
Ultra-processed foods lead to chronic diseases? Bread, breakfast cereals, yogurt and dairy desserts are all associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
[G]iven the prevailing sense of certainty that ultraprocessed foods are a prime culprit in chronic disease, it may surprise you ...
Viewpoint: Anti-glyphosate hysteria pushed by RFK, Jr. and MAHA allies throws a dark cloud over modern agriculture
[L]ooming concerns such as talk of a possible glyphosate ban and tight time lines for national carbon emission goals have ...
Viewpoint: India has a huge opportunity on gene editing:—This isn’t about corporate-controlled GM crops. It’s about empowering farmers with healthier and more resilient plants.’
Imagine mangoes growing in the deserts of Rajasthan, wheat that thrives in extreme heat and provides higher nutrition, or rice ...
Combating global micronutrient deficiencies: Israeli scientists deploy gene editing to develop vitamin-rich lettuce
Israeli scientists successfully used CRISPR gene-editing technology to develop a nutrient-enhanced variety of lettuce, marking a breakthrough in efforts to ...
Viewpoint: ‘This is like banning life-saving medicines because some patients take overdoses’: Pakistan debates banning key agricultural chemicals that some say are misused
A proposed government ban on 12 widely used agrochemicals has triggered alarm across Pakistan's agriculture sector as experts warn it ...
Does eating organic foods lower your risk of cancer?
Overall, when it comes to crops that produce food like fruits and vegetables, the main difference is that organic is ...
